1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wheelchairs, and more particularly to brackets for attaching supports and other components to a frame of the wheelchair.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wheelchairs are commonly used by people who are unable to walk. The typical wheelchair has tubular metal frame with large rear wheels at each side and smaller front wheels which swivel. The frame is formed by a combination of elements, commonly referred to as “canes” that are connected together at various angles. In its simplest form, the seat of the wheelchair comprises a sheet of material which is hung between two spaced apart horizontal canes and a similar vertical sheet of material that is strung between two vertical rear canes to form the seat back. Although the flexible sheets of material conform somewhat to the contour of the user's body, this type of seat is not very comfortable for users who remain in the wheelchair for prolonged periods of time. Therefore, it is very common for those sheets to be replaced with aftermarket seat and back cushions.
The wheelchair frame also has a pair of left and right hanger canes that extend downward and forward from the two horizontal seat canes and terminate in supports for the wheelchair occupant's feet. Some wheelchair occupants lack sufficient leg muscle control to retain their legs in the proper position when seated. As a consequence, their legs often flop outward. It is not uncommon with elderly people that the knees spread part in this manner which causes the person to slide forward in the chair.
For these people, lateral knee supports are frequently attached to the left and right hanger canes to restrain the legs from spreading apart and maintain the person in the proper seated position in the wheelchair. A skilled medical person often initially positions the knee pads to provide adequate restraint and yet be comfortable to the wheelchair occupant. Nevertheless, the knee supports can interfere with the ability of the person to enter and leave the wheelchair and have to be removed or at least moved outward at those times. Thereafter the knee supports usually had to be properly re-positioned by a skilled medical person. In many situations, however, skilled medical personnel are not available, such as when the wheelchair is being used at home or elsewhere away from a medical facility. On those occasions, the unskilled caregiver assisting the wheelchair occupant may not restore the knee supports to the proper position.
Other types of supports, such as for the head of the wheelchair occupant, also have similar adjustment requirements.
Another problem is that some knee supports must be detached entirely from the frame to allow a person to enter or leave the wheelchair. At those times, the knee supports have to be placed somewhere away from the wheelchair. If the wheelchair then sits unused for a prolonged time, it may be moved away from the knee supports. Thus when the person needs to use the wheelchair again, a search has to be conducted for the knee supports.
Other styles of wheelchairs employ similar types of supports and their users encounter similar problems.
Therefore, there exists a need for a mechanism for attaching a support to a wheelchair that once adjusted into a proper position can be released and then easily restored to that proper position by other than skilled medical personnel.